American Beauty is one of the best films I have ever seen. The Academy gave the movie a Picture of the Year award, among other honors. There are many good uses of cinematography throughout the film. I will be describing how cinematography is used to enhance what is happening in that particular scene. The theme in American Beauty is suburban life. It s all there, the self-centered good-looking blonde, the morbid unattractive teenage daughter.
The similar houses with gardens and perfect grass, and the streets are lined with oak trees. The Burnham’s have two cars; a sedan and an SUV. It s the American Nightmare. Nobody is happy, but they pretend to be. It is a world where material possessions mean more in life than actual people. It s a perfect satire on suburbia.
There are several scenes that are shot using a video camera, which is primarily used by Ricky Fitz, the boy next door. The use of these shots helps the viewer to see the world through Ricky s eyes. It s a world that is from a very different outlook. He sees beauty in ways that many other people wouldn t. By using these shots the viewer sees what Ricky is. How he can see the beauty in Jane, a beauty that she can t even see until meeting him.
There isn t any sound in most of these scenes, except when Jane talks to him. In the scene where Jane is showing him his breast from her bedroom window, he doesn t even really looks at her breasts; he just zooms in on her face. This shows how different of an outlook he has compared to the normal guy. I can bet that most men, including me, were interested in seeing her breasts, but he thinks that she is beautiful so he would rather see her expression. There are many shots that are close up. This helps to amplify the actors emotions and their performance overall.
The Term Paper on United States War Americans World
Social Change in the United States During World War II As the possibility of a second World War arose people began to form opinions on the United States' role in Europe. The general population disagreed on whether or not to get involved in the conflict with Germany. Some people believed in interventionism, the theory that the United States should do everything it could to support Britain without ...
With such great acting this technique is very effective in getting the viewer to feel the emotions that each character makes them feel. For instance, the scene where Carolyn is closing the blinds on the open house, the camera frames her head and the viewer is right there for her insanity. Without this close-up this scene would not have been as good as a performance. The scene where Lester is lying in bed, the roses are falling on him, and the camera gets close to show the look on his face.
It amazes me how real of a look it is, it made feel relaxed and in aw. The scene with Ricky s dialogue about the plastic bag the camera gets right up close at the perfect time. You can see the expression on his face and the twinkle in his big blue eyes. It makes the viewer so emotional. I felt the same emotions that he was feeling in this scene, it was a feeling joy so overwhelming that I wanted to cry. The same type of shot is used to show the reaction on Jane s while he is talking.
You can see the moment where she falls in love with him. There are a few scenes where Lester and Carolyn and shot with them distanced apart on either side of the screen. This shows how separate they are. Even thought they live, eat, and sleep with each other they aren t together emotionally. The dinner scenes for instance, they are on opposite side of the screen with Jane in the middle. As the viewer you can see how separate there lives are.
Several scenes are shot by a reflection. For instance, the scene where Lester sneaks into Jane s bedroom to look up Angela s phone number, Jane gets out of the shower to answer the phone and the camera frames her reflection off the mirror. I am not really sure what this is supposed to represent, but I think that this type of shot is could be used to show foul play or deception. This shot is also used when Ricky s father is washing his car and he catches a glimpse of the gay couple jogging with Lester.
To him, Lester associating with gay men would be considered foul play, he is especially curious because he is talking to Ricky. In the scenes where Lester is talking to the effeciancy expert there are some interesting camera angles used. In the first scene, where Lester is in Brad s office Lester is filmed from a far and Brad is filmed closer. Lester looks tiny in comparison to Lester. This is done to show who is in control, who has the power in this situation.
The Research paper on The Camera Case
From the onset of this course, the writer was told to choose a product that has influenced the writer’s life; the only item would and has been the Camera. As a child the writer has always been intrigued by the ideas of a story, a story that little words but great impact. These short stories can only be told through pictures, through the technology of the camera. As the wise ones say, “A picture ...
Brad has all the power, he could end Lester s career right at this meeting. In the second scene, the roles have almost been reversed. Brad is filmed in the same way, but Lester is made to look big taking up almost the entire frame. Lester has all the power and he is calling the shots. He s confident, he is right up close to Brad, and he s going to get what he wants. This type of shot is also used when Ricky confronts Jane in the schoolyard.
There is a shot where the camera is behind Ricky and you can see Jane, but she is so small in comparison to his shoulder. He intimidates her. He very confident and has all the power in the conversation. She call him a psycho and he doesn t even blink.
